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Democrats have been pushing House Republicans to hold a vote on a landmark immigration reform bill that was passed in June, or try to work on their own immigration legislation. But Republicans have been apprehensive, with the most conservative members opposed to anything that could provide a pathway to citizenship or legalization for undocumented immigrants.

The probability of a comprehensive immigration deal being passed becomes smaller as the days on the calendar tick closer to the 2014 election. But Democrats, who see immigration as an election issue if a vote isn’t held, continue to press for a vote in the House.

Key House lawmakers who have been working on releasing immigration bills this year — without success thus far — said their chamber needs to take up a rewrite in 2014, disputing theories that the House can take up reform when Republican primaries have passed or in a subsequent Congress.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) said the budget deal reached by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) could open up the congressional calendar but other crises requiring lawmakers’ attention could erupt throughout the year. And it will increasingly become difficult to pass major legislation closer to the November election.

“I don’t see how politically it gets easier down the road,” he said. “I think it gets more difficult.”

“I don’t see the Senate, in 2015, taking this issue back up,” added Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.). “The clock ends on Jan. 2 of next year.”